svdl - thanks for the advise. I wrote down those specs and will shop around with them in mind!
My current situation is that my wife wants to buy me a new pc for a bithday present and a $1,200 qaud core 8 gig animation powerhouse is not going to happen right now.  Seeing that Im just doing single frame artwork but would like to render more complex lighting, add more props and figures and cut some of the render time down. Hey if you want a good laugh, my current specs...384 mb Pc100, Pentium 3 (1), No graphics card, 12 GB HD, XP home ( 3 installs have been used already)!